The correct answer to this open question is the following.
Whaling was an important activity for the colonies of New England.
The colonies of New England could not grow crops as the Middle colonies did or the Southern colonies did. The soil in New England was not as fertile as the other colonies. It was rocky soil. And the weather conditions did not help to produce good cash crops.
That is why the colonists of New England became good whalers, great fishermen, and shipbuilders. Their life and sustenance depended on these activities.